Race and Inequality

Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, University of New Haven

Key Findings

There are racial differences in police officers regarding quality-of-life policing.

On the topic of intervening in neighborhood disputes, 59.9% of Black officers reported they should always intervene while only 34.7% of White officers reported they should intervene.

In regards to family disputes, 56% of Black officers reported they should always intervene when compared to the 39% of White officers.

On the topic of improving neighborhood conditions 76.9% of Black officers reported that it an important goal for the police when compared to the 54.3% of White officers.

Description

In the article, “Light Blue Versus Dark Blue: Attitudinal Differences in Quality-of-Life Policing,” Boyd examines the racial differences in police outlook on quality-of-life. The term quality-of-life includes aspects of community life that influence the physical and mental health of its members. If quality-of-life is not addressed, it could cause serious issues to develop. To conduct his study, Boyd used data from the Project on Policing Neighborhoods, which used surveys to examine attitudinal differences in Black and White officers on non-life threatening issues in Indiana and Florida from 1996 to 1997. The results showed that Black officers were more likely to support quality-of-life policing when compared to White officers. On the topic of intervening in neighborhood disputes, 59.9% of Black officers reported they should always intervene while only 34.7% of White officers reported they should intervene. In regards to family disputes, 56% of Black officers reported they should always intervene when compared to the 39% of White officers. Finally, 76.9% of Black officers reported that improving neighborhood conditions was an important goal for the police compared to the 54.3% of White officers. Boyd concluded that there were discernible differences between Black and White officers and that quality-of-life training should be an integral part of White officer’s training as well as bolstered for Black officers.